In his own words....

And now for a report on some of Jonas’ first experiences, in his own words:

First trip to the post office so that Mom could mail photos to Grandma and Grandpa Vogt.

First lunch with the Randolph sisters at the Webster House; I was a model child.

First visit to a domestic violence shelter; Mom took me there to show me around to the folks she used to work with. I got to see a giant colorful butterfly, and stuck my hand down a lady’s blouse.

First set of chopsticks – got some “trainer” chopsticks when Janee’ and Amelia visited. Stuck my hand down Amelia’s blouse too.

First ride in a golf cart – from a nice man named Bruce on a hot June day when Mom took me to a gathering of work colleagues at the country club.

First church service attended – didn’t cry, burp or fart, much to Mom’s relief, and Dad’s disappointment; got to see a slightly older kid get baptized.

First explosive poopy – overflowed the top of my diaper and happened while Mom was holding me. No need to elaborate.

First brunch – had cheese blintzes and bagels (courtesy of Mom’s milk) at the Patton house in celebration of Colin Patrick Slatev, who is 5 months older than me.

First trip clothes shopping – went with Mom to a clothing store. She says that holding me makes her feel hot all the time, so she needed some tank tops to make it through the summer. I had a very messy diaper that Mom changed for me, and I wanted to be held the whole time.

First trip to a book store – Mom thought she needed to buy more books about how to take care of an infant. Seems to me that she’s doing pretty good, but I think that the books make her feel less nervous.

A few details....

Jonas is now over 7 weeks old. He is able to lift his head and hold it up. When placed on his stomach, he can move his head from side to side. From this position, he also lifts both legs up at the same time. When he lifts his head and legs at the same time, it looks like he is body surfing. It’s fun to watch him do this while on Ed’s stomach.

His repertoire of gurgles is growing. He makes an “arh” sound. His Nonnie says that’s his way of talking; I think it’s her favorite sound.

Physically, he is really fattening up. At the new mom’s group that we attended yesterday, he weighed in at 11 pounds, 12 ounces, with clothes and a diaper on. He looked like a giant next to newborn twins. However, the 7 month old girls could have beaten him up with one hand tied behind their backs. He’s a healthy eater, and burps quite loudly. The air he expels from his “other end” is quite loud as well, and sounds like it was produced by an adult!

He still struggles with gas, and generally only cries when he has pain from gas, or is overtired. We are trying to start a nightly ritual with 9:00 p.m. diaper and clothing change, gripe water (bicarbonate, ginger, and fennel), and pacifier. It takes him about 90 minutes to find a calm, lasting sleep. He wakes about every 3 hours to eat, but goes right back to sleep. Our pediatrician cautioned us to keep him in his bassinet on his back, rather than let him sleep in our bed, or on our stomachs. Even though he greatly prefers to sleep with us, we had managed to wean him to the bassinet. This week, however, he seems much fussier, and will only sleep with us. We are still trying to reinforce the bassinet, though, as our queen sized bed just isn’t big enough!

When he yawns, he makes a small “O” with his mouth which then grows to a full sized yawn. When I go to change his diaper, he stretches both arms and legs as full as he can. He is fascinated by the slats in his crib.

Some of Jonas’ new tricks

He grabbed a burp towel and brought it to his mouth. This may have been an accident, but I got excited.

He’s beginning to smile, but these moments are handed to us sporadically, and are still rare. When he’s entering REM sleep, he smiles often and even laughs. On Father’s Day, Jonas gifted Ed with a full blown smile that was not sleep-induced.

He has a small red birthmark on the back of his head. His eyes are true blue, and we hope they’ll stay that way. His eyelashes and eyebrows are blond, but his hair is a light brown, with some blond mixed in. It’s as soft as corn silk.

Family Walk + Photos

Please forgive the totally unoriginal title. All of my energy now goes into making milk and changing diapers.

Tonight we took Jonas and the dog out for a stroll. The walking trail near our home was busy, but the dog got all of the attention from the various people we encountered along the way. We walked quite a long route, and Jonas, who had been asleep since we left the house, woke up cranky about 5 blocks from home. A stop at a nearby park bench calmed everyone, and the dog even got to wade in the fountain. The weather here is muggy but just cool enough for comfort so we were able to hang out for awhile.

While at the park, Jonas really seemed to take in the world. The sky was still blue, and he gazed at it in wonder. Ed held him, facing out, upright against his chest. In trying to take it all in, Jonas' weeble-wobble head went back so far that he ended up looking at Ed with a surprised expression. Then, he didn't have the strength to move his head back. It was hilarious!

We also spent time trying out the floor play-gym. Jonas seems to prefer to be on his back, and is starting to notice the toys hanging down. When on his tummy, he lifts his head and bottom, sometimes at the same time. He manages to lift his legs and bottom totally off the floor, in an arch, usually fueled by irritation at being unable to move very much. He seems quite strong. Because he's not fond of his car seat, he will resist being placed in it by making his body rigid and bowed out so it feels impossible to force him in it without hurting him. Generally, I try to tire him out rather than force him, but he's a persistent little guy.

Earlier today, I tried to take some photos of Jonas for his birth announcement. Here's a sampling of how things went....

Initially, there were some distrustful looks:


And gurgles of concern:



Followed by general crankiness:




Then outrage: (maybe related to the wardrobe change?)


Outrage evolved to a sneeze:




And then there was the post-sneeze miserable look:



I finally took pity on the boy, and gave up. Well, until he fell asleep:


And for all his pain and suffering, NONE of these images were selected for his birth announcement. Poor fellow. He's only been here for about a month, can't sleep for longer than 3 hours, is constantly hungry, and has terrible gas. Does he really need a mother who keeps taking pictures with a flash?

Everybody Poops (and other developmental milestones)

Jonas is changing before our eyes. He has become a tad cranky, seems to be awake more, and wants to be held often. I pulled out two books and read (quickly!) last night while he and Ed spent time together.

According to the books, Jonas is probably going through the 5 week development changes. Because I'm quick to pick him up when he cries and haven't instituted a feeding or sleeping schedule yet, I felt validated by the "authorities" in those books when they said that he needs attention and touch at this point. Apparently, it will be many more months before he can become spoiled by such unlimited attention. Yeah! I love soothing him, feeding him, holding him.

This morning, Jonas showed Ed his ability to project his poop. It traveled at least a foot, landing on Ed's shirt, the crib, the mattress, and the carpet. What's truly revealing is that our first response was amazement. Then we were impressed and amused. Finally (when the dog showed interest in licking up the poop), we felt a twinge of disgust. Yes, this is poop after all.